There are also other possible benefits of being a contractor than a regular employee. Usually, a contractor, in lew of receiving company benefits (ie-health benefits) will be payed more than a regular employee in the same position. This is one reason why a lot of people prefer to be contractors- higher pay (and more options). If someones spouse is a regular employee with a company and receives benefits, again the main one being health insurance, it covers the whole family (so the other spouse does not need it) and they are then bringing in more income to the family as a contractor. Of course someone who is single, may just want the higher pay, and not want the lower pay and benefits for whatever their personal reasons.

My main point is that being a contractor has its benefits also, especially for people who might prefer to be a contractor.

Just want to clarify a few points... Is there a difference between a temporary worker from, say, an employment agency, and a contractor in the sense that you mean? I work in a factory (in the UK) and we have LOADS of agency temps (mostly from eastern Europe) and they are paid minimum wage and generally treated like lower class citizens. This is true of a lot of places i've worked where the management just use them to save money and get rid of them ASAP if they want.

I cant help wondering how many of the points you've raised would apply to some lowly paid jobbing actor whose getting bit parts as and when they can?